2011 eureka moments
The discovery of an HIV drug treatment, steps towards a malaria vaccine and
alien solar systems, all feature on a list of scientific achievements
A clinical trial that demonstrated beyond doubt the benefit of anti-retroviral drugs in curbing the transmission of the AIDS virus, in addition to treating the disease, has been named “the scientific breakthrough of 2011” by the journal Science.
For several years, scientists have suggested that anti-retroviral drugs given to AIDS patients may also lower the risk of them transmitting HIV to sexual partners who are free of the virus.

THIS UNIVERSEProf Yash PalSir, I have read that the ozone hole was first discovered in Antarctica, where there are no humans. Scientists also say that the ozone hole is caused by the release of CFCs. If this is true, why was it found over Antarctica, and not the US?
It is indeed a very good question. I will give you a qualitative answer. And I find this answer to be rather beautiful. First thing to realise is that we are talking of a global phenomenon. Atmosphere is all connected.

2011 eureka moments
The discovery of an HIV drug treatment, steps towards a malaria vaccine and
alien solar systems, all feature on a list of scientific achievements

Anti-retroviral treatments for HIV can reduce transmission
to partners by up to 96 per cent — AFP/Getty Images

A clinical trial that demonstrated beyond doubt the benefit of anti-retroviral drugs in curbing the transmission of the AIDS virus, in addition to treating the disease, has been named “the scientific breakthrough of 2011” by the journal Science.

For several years, scientists have suggested that anti-retroviral drugs given to AIDS patients may also lower the risk of them transmitting HIV to sexual partners who are free of the virus.

A report on an HIV-transmission trial in Africa in The Independent in 2010, for instance, hinted at such a major side-benefit of anti-retroviral drugs. But it was not until this year that researchers were able to prove it conclusively with a properly-controlled clinical trial.

Nearly 1,800 heterosexual couples from nine countries, from Brazil to Thailand, took part in the trial. Pairs of “discordant” couples, where only one partner was infected with HIV, were deliberately selected to take part in the trial to test the idea that anti-retroviral drugs could lower the risk of transmission from one partner to another.

The £50m trial, known by its code HPTN 052, was supposed to have gone on until 2015 before scientists compared couples taking anti-retrovirals to those who were not. But, monitoring this year showed the benefits of the drugs were so clear-cut in terms of preventing HIV transmission that the researchers decided on ethical grounds to give all participants access to anti-retrovirals.

Of the 28 persons who became infected with HIV since the trial began, only one belonged to the group in which one of the sex partners was taking anti-retrovirals. This group also experienced some 41 per cent fewer serious health problems associated with HIV compared to the group that was not taking the drugs.

The key discovery was that when anti-retrovirals are taken early enough in the course of HIV infection, long before levels of white blood cells fall to the point that usually leads to the prescribing of the drugs, it can have a dramatic impact on heterosexual transmission — reducing it by some 96 per cent.

Myron Cohen, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who led the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine said the strength of the findings surprised him.

At the end of each year, Science lists 10 scientific breakthroughs that its board of experts believes could be considered among the greatest achievements of the past 12 months. The one with the highest number of votes earns the status of Breakthrough of the Year.

breakthroughs
of the year

The Hayabusa mission: After some near-disastrous technical difficulties and a stunningly successful recovery, Japan’s Hayabusa spacecraft returned to Earth with dust from the surface of a large, S-type asteroid — the first direct sampling of a planetary body in 35 years.

Unravelling human origins: Studies of the genetic code of both ancient and modern humans revealed that many humans still carry variations in their DNA that were inherited from archaic humans who lived tens of thousands of years ago, such as the mysterious Denisovans in Asia and still-unidentified ancestors in Africa.

Capturing sunlight: In vivid detail, researchers in Japan have mapped the structure of the photosynthetic protein used by plants to split water into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The finding may lead to a powerful source of clean energy.

Pristine space gas: Astronomers using the Keck telescope in Hawaii to probe the faraway universe wound up discovering two clouds of hydrogen gas that seem to have maintained their original chemistry for two billion years after the big bang. The discoveries show that pockets of matter persisted unscathed amid eons of cosmic violence.

Microbes in the gut: Research into the countless microbes that dwell in the human gut demonstrated that everyone has a dominant bacterium living in their digestive tract. The findings helped to clarify the interplay between diet and microbes in nutrition and disease.

Malaria vaccine: Early results of a pioneering clinical trial of a malaria vaccine, known as RTS, S, involving more than 15,000 children from seven African countries showed that discovering a malaria vaccine remains possible.

Alien solar systems: Astronomers had their first good views of several distant planetary systems and discovered that things are pretty weird out there, including a star system with planets orbiting in ways that today’s models cannot explain, a planet caught in a rare “retrograde” orbit, a planet circling a binary star system and 10 planets that seem to be freely floating in space. They are all unlike anything found in our own solar system.

Designer zeolites: This year, chemists designed a range of new zeolites, porous minerals used as catalysts and molecular sieves, that are cheaper, thinner and better equipped to process larger organic molecules.

The elixir of youth: Clearing senescent cells, or those that have stopped dividing, from the bodies of mice can delay the onset of age-related symptoms, such as cataracts and muscle weakness. Mice whose bodies were cleared of these loitering cells did not live longer than their untreated cage-mates — but did seem to live better.

A resident runs on a flooded stairway as floodwater pours into an underground garage amid heavy rainfalls in
Chengdu, Sichuan province, in this July 3, 2011, file photo. From floods that crippled countries, to mega cyclones, huge blizzards, killer tornadoes to famine-inducing droughts, 2011 has been another record-breaker for bad weather. While it is too early to predict what 2012 will be like, insurers and weather prediction agencies point to a clear trend: the world’s weather is becoming more extreme and more costly. — Reuters/China Daily

Red meat lovers have more kidney cancer: study

NEW YORK:
People who eat lots of red meat may have a higher risk of some types of kidney cancer, according to a US study of thousands of adults. Researchers writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that middle-aged adults who ate the most red meat were 19 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with kidney cancer than those who ate the least. A higher intake of chemicals found in grilled or barbecued meat was also linked to increased risk of the disease. “Our findings support the dietary recommendations for cancer prevention currently put forth by the American Cancer Society — limit intake of red and processed meats and prepare meat by cooking methods such as baking and broiling,” said lead researcher Carrie Daniel, at the US National Cancer Institute.

US approves Monsanto drought-tolerant GM corn

WASHINGTON: Monsanto’s genetically engineered, drought-resistant corn is deregulated, the US Agriculture Department said on Thursday, clearing the variety for sale. USDA approved the variety after reviewing environmental and risk assessments, public comments and research data from Monsanto.

Ancient ‘purity’ seal found near Jerusalem temple site

JERUSALEM: Israeli archaeologists have found a 2,000-year-old clay seal near Jerusalem’s Western Wall, confirming written accounts of ritual practices in the biblical Jewish Temple. The button-shaped object bears the Aramaic words “pure for God”, suggesting it was used to certify food and animals used in sacrificial ceremonies. — Reuters

Sir, I have read that the ozone hole was first discovered in Antarctica, where there are no humans. Scientists also say that the ozone hole is caused by the release of CFCs. If this is true, why was it found over Antarctica, and not the US?

It is indeed a very good question. I will give you a qualitative answer. And I find this answer to be rather beautiful. First thing to realise is that we are talking of a global phenomenon. Atmosphere is all connected. Winds rage across to circle the globe. Ozone is produced in the upper atmosphere. These fragile molecules get kicked around for a while till they meet their end either through destruction by collision or by doing what they are supposed to do, namely by absorbing an ultra violet photon that would otherwise make its way to the earth surface. This last is a good martyr’s job, but the other destruction is like loosing the defending soldiers for nothing. What makes the arctic regions especially dangerous is the role played by aerosols in the frigid circumnavigating polar winds. These aerosols act as attractive temporary “sarrais” for both, the wandering ozone molecules and their lethal adversaries, the chloro-flouro carbon molecules. Any contact between them leads to the destruction of the loosely bound atom of ozone through the loss of one of its oxygen atoms to one of the halogen molecules. What is vicious is that a halogen molecules does not stop after robbing and transferring away an oxygen atom from a single ozone molecule, but can continue the process hundreds of time. They are experts in mass assassination!

Why do bubbles come out of a dirty black stream after every 2-3 seconds?

I believe that you are perhaps watching a highly polluted stream and the bubbles are most probably methane gas produced in an extreme biological contamination.